Mayor's View: Time to plan: Roundabout work to begin

Area residents have been hearing about the roundabout to be built at the intersection of Pearl City Road and Kiwanis Drive for the best part of two years. It is a joint county/city project because that section of Pearl City Road is in the county.

Area residents have been hearing about the roundabout to be built at the intersection of Pearl City Road and Kiwanis Drive for the best part of two years. It is a joint county/city project because that section of Pearl City Road is in the county. Some people like the roundabout; some are opposed. I fall into the latter category — but this project was approved and funded before I took office.

For better or worse, construction of this project is about to begin. The intersection will be closed beginning this week and extending through Dec. 1. The project will be completed in the spring.

The intersection closure will not be without its headaches. There will be access to adjacent businesses, St. Thomas and Highland, but you will have to plan ahead. You also might want to take two aspirin and practice deep breathing to avoid pounding on your steering wheel and uttering choice epithets when navigating the area. It will be inconvenient.

Here is the access plan. Access to Highland College, area businesses and organizations and residences will remain open throughout the project as follows:

Highland College east entrance — access from Stephenson Street to Kiwanis Drive.

Heritage Woods — access from westbound Pearl City Road to new construction entrance.

St. Thomas Church — access from Stephenson Street to Kiwanis Drive.

If you read the above plan closely, you will note a couple of things. You will need to detour to the Kiwanis Drive entrance of Highland if you are coming west on Pearl City Road. You cannot easily access Citizens Bank if you are coming from the west. Same thing for St. Thomas. If you live on Forest Road (or nearby), you face a substantial detour.

What do we get for all the state and local funds expended? According to IDOT and the engineers, we get a safer intersection, even sight lines, and continuous traffic flow. There should be far fewer accidents and virtually no T-bones, where one vehicle spears another in the side. Keep in mind that a lot of the project expense is for re-engineering the intersection for better sight lines and improved traffic safety.

Regular project updates will be posted on the city’s website (cityoffreeport.org) under the “Pearl City Road-Kiwanis Drive Intersection” link. If you have questions, feel free to talk to our city engineer at 815-297-1166 or you can call my office at 815-235-8200. Our respective emails are sgallagher@cityoffreeport.org and mayor@cityoffreeport.org.

Normally, I would end this article with a tongue in cheek comment like, “let the bulldozers begin.” In this case, I simply have my fingers crossed.